Zero
by Aardwulf
Summary: What does the Liger Zero think of its teammates? And what of that name, Zero? Response to the ZE Forums fanfic challenge albeit a somewhat belated one.


~*DISCLAIMER*~  I do not own anything associated with "Zoids".  No profit is sought with the distribution of this story, and no infringement of copyright is intended or should be inferred.  Refrigerate after opening.

A/N:  Written for the Zoids Fanfiction Challenge over at the ZE Boards.  Posted here and not there because...well, because I can't access the boards, so. :P  Props to Rocke for coming up with the challenge.  Enjoy. 

ZERO

by Aardwulf

April 2004

_..._

_Where am I?_

"...just had to have it!  Isn't it the coolest thing_ ever?_"

"Sure, if you like white."

_Awake.  I am...awake?_

"Doesn't it have any weapons?  I don't see any..."

_This place feels strange.  This is not where I fell asleep...not that I remember _where _I fell asleep, but I know this is not it._

"I've never even seen a Zoid like this before, Doc.  What'd you say it was called?"

"Well, the guy didn't mention exactly.  But he did say it was ultra-rare, which makes it _extra_ special!"

"...Sure, Doc."

_Where am I?_

"How useful is a Zoid without any weapons?  That's lame!"

"Don't think of it like that, Leena, sweetie.  Think of it as being...extra customisable."

_What are these voices?  Ah...down there.  Humans!  _Pilots!

"Doc, I really hate to ask, but how much did you pay for this thing?"

"Oh, uh...say, it really is sharp-looking, isn't it?  Oh, look, Leena, it does have a gun after all."

"On its tail?  It could only use that if it was running away from something."

"So where exactly is Leon?  He ever say?"  
  


_Hello, tiny frail little human!  Will you be my pilot?_

"Working out, I think.  He should be around pretty soon."

"Who's gonna pilot it, Dad?"  
  


"Well, I thought it might be a nice upgrade for Leon's Shield Liger, but there's no reason the rest of the team can't take a crack at it, I guess.  Leena?"

_Excellent!  I know I have awoken because it is time to find a pilot.  Finally I will find my partner, my equal, my – _

"All right, you dorky thing, open up."  
  
_...mmeh.  I do not think my match will be _this_ human.  Now see here, don't grip the controls so tightly!  You must let _me_ show you how I want to be piloted, I'm not like your other Zoids..._

"What's wrong with this thing?  It won't budge!"

"Just give it a minute to warm up..."

"It's had a minute already.  C'mon, move!  Do _something_!"

_I will not do something just because an impatient human tells me to.  Stop and listen for a moment..._

"Argh!  This Zoid is hopeless."

_Bah.  This human is hopeless._

"Eh heh...well, then.  Jamie?"

"Wha?  Why me?  I don't wanna pilot another Zoid, I've already got my Pteras..."

"Oh, just give it a try.  You might like it."

"All right..."

Well, you needn't sound so resigned.  I do not wish to sound arrogant, but I am quite bit more impressive than a Pteras.  Here we go.  Now I know I told the girl not to hold the controls so tightly, but you are not holding tightly enough.  I do not want a pilot who has no confidence in his own ability.  

"Uh, okay...nice Zoid, good Zoid...um...walk?"

_No, no, no!  More forcefully!  You cannot tell a Zoid to do something, but you cannot simply _ask_ it either.  You must _want_ it, for both of you.  Do you not unders – oh, stop fidgeting!  There is no need for such apprehension.  Enough of this.  Out of my cockpit.  Out, out, out!_

"Waugh!"

"Geez, what button did you push to make it toss its head around like that?"

"Nothing!  Ow..."

"This isn't looking real encouraging, Dad."

"There's still two more left.  Let's see how Brad does."

"After that inspiring display, why not?"

Let us hope you are a better candidate than the other two.  Ah, you have a light touch, but steady.  That is good.  You have a very strong will, a will to win!  This I like.  You know how to handle other Zoids, but do you know how to handle me?

"How's it going up there, Brad?"

"Nh.  Feels different from any other Zoid I've piloted before."

Well of course I feel different.  I am different!  Do you not realise this?  

"I knew something was wonky about that Zoid.  Even Brad can't figure it out."

"I'll have it running in a minute.  Zoids are just machines, they're all basically the same underneath the armour."

...You don't, do you?  I cannot have a partner who does not think of me as more than a mere machine...

"Wow.  I thought for sure that even if Leena or I couldn't get it moving, Brad would be able to."

"I think this Zoid's defective, Doc."

I am not defective!  I am different from other Zoids but none of you will listen when I try to tell you!   I think it is humans who are defective.

"Ah, Leon!  Boy, am I glad to see you, son.  Look what I picked up in town today!"

"That some kind of new Liger, Dad?"  
  


"Yep.  Isn't it great?  A white one!  Those are real hard to come by, you know."

"...You just saw it and had to have it, huh."

"Don't sound so disgusted.  I got it for you."

"Yeah, and good luck getting it to do anything.  The rest of us tried piloting it and the stupid thing wouldn't even move."

Hmph.  The fault for that lies with three persons in this hangar, and none of them, by the way, is me.

"You're kidding, right?  It wouldn't respond to any of you?"

"When do I ever kid, Leon?"

"C'mon, do me a favour and just give it a shot, all right?"

I do not know if I dare hold out any hope for this one.  Very well, climb in.  Sit down.  Take the controls.  Let us see if you will listen to me.

"Okay, White Liger, what's going on with you?..."

After all, it's not as though any of the other humans have – wait, were you addressing me?  Asking me a question?  Eve have mercy!  There may be hope for your species yet.  

"I don't see what the problem is.  You're a good Zoid, aren't you?  You just need the right pilot."

Yes!  Yes, that is precisely what I have been trying to say!  Oh, how long I have been waiting for someone to listen to me!  I knew I did not awake for nothing!

"Hey, he got it moving!"

"All right!"

Let us run, you and I!  We will run far, and together we shall become a perfect team, warriors unmatched, known throughout history as – 

but – wait; somehow this feels...not right?  No!  No...

"Hey, Liger, what're you – "

"Leon, why are you stopping?"

"Told you that thing was defective."

Something tells me...you are not to be my pilot.  But how can that be?  We feel so right together...do we not?  

...No.  We do not.  You will make some Zoid a fine partner one day, but not me.

"What happened, Leon?"

"I...wish I knew.  It just...stopped."

"Great.  So there's officially no one on this team that can pilot this Zoid."

"Eh...looks that way, yeah."

"Well, Doc, congratulations.  You bought a pointy white thirty-ton paperweight."

"Doc, how much did you spend on it?"

"Are you sure you want him to answer that?"

"Maybe we can sell it off somehow.  See if there's anybody who wants a giant lawn statue."

"Yeah, there's a great newspaper ad waiting to happen.  'For Sale: One Zoid that nobody can pilot.  Ultra-rare...'  What's it called again?"

Yes, I had a name once, didn't I?  When I was much smaller, and could speak to the humans mind-to-mind.  What was it...

"Well, we're going to have to register it with the team anyway, so I guess it needs a name.  Any suggestions?"

"You're not going to settle for something simple like 'White Liger', are you?"  
  


"Leon!  Show a little creativity.  That doesn't sound nearly cool enough."

You are a strange human.  But at least you recognise that I deserve a respectable name.  Let me see...

"How about Liger Deluxe?  Or maybe, I dunno...ooh!  Liger Super-Ultra!"

"...You're kidding, right?"  
  


"Pfft.  Liger Zero is more like it.  That's exactly what it's worth."

An insult!  Well, I am not particularly fond of you either, O pushy pink-haired girl.  I am a powerful Zoid, and fierce!  I am Liger the Strong, Liger the Mighty, Liger the Indefatigable!  ...Well, perhaps that last is a bit of a mouthful.  But I will not be called Liger Zero!  

"Oh, come on!  We can at least try to make it sound impressive...Brad?"

"You can call it Clarence the Cross-Eyed Liger as far as I'm concerned.  Not my Zoid and never will be, so I don't care."

"Guys, come back and let's talk it over a little!...  They're not coming back, are they?"

"Doesn't look that way, Dad."

"Well, on that note...I'd better head back inside too.  Gotta...trim the budget a little."

"What?!  Hey, Doc, you never did answer my question...how much did you spend on that thing?  Doc?  Doc!"

Well, there they all go, one by one, and I without a pilot.  Alone.

Oh.  Except for you.  

"Wish I could figure out what went wrong there, Liger.  It's a shame such a great Zoid has to go to waste."

A greater shame than you know.  How I wish that we were meant to be partners, flat-topped one.  I am sure you would never call me so insulting a name as Zero.

~*~

Poor Shield Liger.  So badly damaged in the battle today...  Everybody is in an uproar.  Leon was hurt today, too.  I know that if I had been out there with him, he wouldn't have been.  Perhaps I was wrong before...maybe he is meant to be my partner, and if I have neglected him and allowed him to come to harm...

No.  We were not meant to be, him and I.  He is meant for another.  

Ah, the prisoner has started his caterwauling again.  I'd almost forgotten about him for a while there.  Which is amazing; he's a noisy one. 

And here comes Leena with some food for him.  She seems displeased with this boy.  Well, if she dislikes him, then perhaps he is not so bad.  

What?  Oh, they're talking about me.  It's been a while since anyone's expressed any interest in me.  Liger Zero, Liger-whose-name-means-Nothing.  The Useless Zoid.

"Hey.  What's the story with this Liger?"  
  


"We call it Liger Zero.  A cheap dealer conned my dad and tricked him into buying it."

Ahem!  That "Zero" moniker was your idea, not mine.  I wish you would refrain from – oh, why do I bother?

"Dad fell for it because white Ligers are rare, but parts are hard to come by, so it's not easy keeping it maintained.  Besides, no one can pilot it properly."

Just because you and the rest of your team are not good enough for me does not mean that no one is good enough.  Someday I will find that pilot, my partner.  Until then, you will have to contend with this large white mass of Nothing taking up space in your precious hangar.  So there.

Yes, yes, run along to your bed now.  Leave me alone with this stranger who has stumbled into our midst.  

This newcomer...this "Bit".  He feels different from the others, somehow.  Perhaps it is he who...no, surely not him.  But I sense something...

"Liger Zero.  Something tells me you'd be an amazing Zoid if you had the right pilot."

I am already an amazing Zoid.  But I am lonely.  I cannot be complete as a Zoid if I do not have a partner.

You...recognise this, do you not?  Yes.  Yes, you do!  I can see it in your eyes as you look at me, feel it in your soul!  Perhaps you do not know you know, but I will help you to see it.  Come!

"Wh – you want me?"

Of course!  Get in.  We will run together, we two.  We will be partners!  This time I am sure of it!

Such rightness I feel as we run, a rightness I did not feel with any of the others.  You and I belong together, Bit Cloud.  We were meant for each other, and together we will take on the world.

~*~

"That was a blast, Liger.  Who knows?  Maybe our paths'll cross again sometime."

You are my partner, I am sure of it.  After the battle today there can be no doubt.  We performed as one, a single unit fighting for the same goal.  Such a connection between Zoid and human is rare.

Well, how generous of Tauros to offer you a position on his team!  I would not stand for us to be separated even if he had not asked you to stay, of course.  

What do I think of that, you ask?  I know you can feel my joy just as keenly as I can feel yours.

"Cool.  Let's be partners, Liger Zero."

I do not believe anything would make me happier.  I do not even mind so much that you call me Zero.  

For this name that means "nothing"...it is fitting, now, in a way.  I am like nothing else that was before, and with a true partner by my side, nothing that comes after will ever compare.

FIN


End file.
